NEAR Rallies Toward $6 as Trading Activity Climbs

NEAR Protocol’s token rose sharply over the weekend, briefly reaching $6 on October 10 before easing to about $5.64, as trading activity increased and futures open interest climbed. The rally put the token near a key resistance level, while a proposed reduction in new token issuance remained subject to governance approval. The token gained 15.8% between 4 p.m. ET Friday and 3 p.m. ET Monday, according to a reported price comparison. On October 10, NEAR reached $6 on Binance before retreating. Daily trading volume was reported at about $3.54 billion, up nearly 98% from the comparison period cited in market data. By October 12, NEAR was trading near $5.85 in one market-data account. CoinGlass data put futures open interest at about $1.95 billion, up 19.16% over the period reported. Open interest measures outstanding futures contracts and does not show whether traders are predominantly betting on a rise or a decline. Activity on NEAR Intents, a feature for swaps across blockchains, was another factor cited alongside the price move. September swap volume reached $4.8 billion, a reported 72.9% increase from August.